.Tancauy 2o, 188S0 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



513 



§l(e §ettwl 



FIXTURES. 



BENCH SHOWS. 



Msieh 7. B, 9 and 10. Pittsburg, Pft. Bench snow. Ch as. Lincoln 

 .Superintendent. Entries close Feb. as 



stays, io, li and 18. Beaton, Mass. TMrd Bench Show ot tne 



.'i ,•" it; i ■■,i!"i ■ i i. forward J. Forster, Secretary ; cans. 



Lincoln, Superintendent, 



FIELD TKIALB. 

 September. :■ . bbtI can Kennel Club Field Trials on Fralrie 



■ ,-i i ■! - ... it new, Columbia, Tenn., Secretary. 

 in pi n ber ■■ nai \n »■] lean Kennel club Field Trials on Quail, 

 • and Junction, Tenn. D. Brysou, Memphis. Tenn., Secretary- 



TRAINING VS. BREAKING. 



ra TEN OHAPTKKS— OKAF. IX. 



I if the previous chapters we liavc carefully refrained from 

 saying anything about the great benefit to be derived 

 from having a trained dog to assist you in perfecting your 

 pupil in his lessons. We have purposely pursued this course 

 in order to show the new beginner that he can safely rely 

 upon his own resources, and Burcly bring his pupil through 

 all ri<- lit, -without, any assistance. Nevertheless we have ever 

 found that an old dog that is well trained and steady is of 

 great importance in perfecting the pupil in the rudiments of 

 well as the higher branches of his education; and we can- 

 not forbear devoting a little space to the subject. In the 

 first place our canine co-worker should be thoroughly 

 trained aud quick to obey ; he must also be very intelligent 

 and and of a good disposition. Tou should lei the two asso- 

 ciate together from the first, and they will soon become at- 

 tached to one another, unless the old dog is unusually surly. 

 We do not recommend that the pup should receive any guid- 

 ance, from the old dog until he is sufficiently grounded iu his 

 lessons to understand what is required of him. Thus, in 

 teaching him To ho, after he will go through the perform- 

 ance fairly, we take the old dog into the pen with him, and 

 after they have, bad a little time at play we take the pup in 

 our arms, and making sure ihat he sees ail that is going on, 

 we place two pieces of meat on the ground about two feet 

 apart, and, calling up the old dog, make him, at the word 



To ho, point, one of the pieces. We then walk around a 

 little, with the pup still in our arms, taking care that he can 

 see the performance all the time. We then place the pup 

 with ni« nose within a few inches of the second piece, and 

 telling him to To ho, make him wait a few seconds, and then 

 cluck as a signal that they can each eat their piece. This 

 has a wonderfully steadying effect upon the pup. especially 

 when yon come to prolong the time a little, for he, seeing 

 that the old dog is perfectly staunch and steady, will soon 

 learn to emulate him. He will also acquire the very import- 

 ant habit of remaining steady when in the company of other 

 docs; this we consider of great importance, and under all 

 circumstances we accustom the pup to doing his work in the 

 presence of his companions, even if we have to impress the ser- 

 vices of a cur and chain him in one corner of the pen. If this 

 latter course has to be adopted, it is not necessary that it 

 should be commenced until our pupil is somewhat advanced 

 in his education, as the only object in view is to accustom 

 iiiui to perform his duties in the presence of other dogs, and 

 to lay the ground work of that steadiness when among 

 s.t rangers that is so pleasing to see. So particular aro we in 

 this, that we invariably train our pup to point a piece of 

 meat and stand perfectly staunch, while his companion takes 

 the bit and eats it. This he will readily learn to do if you 

 immediately reward him with another piece. If he iB well 

 trained in this he will not annoy you by going to pieces 

 shml I half a dozen dogs rush in upon the bird that he is 

 pointing. 



After our pup is well acquainted with the old dog and 

 has become accustomed to the chain, they should be coupled 

 together for a snort time each day until he gets used to it. 

 We Shall find further on that this will he a great help to us. 

 The coupling chain should he short with two good swivels. 

 Mes". persons make a mistake in having the coupling chain 

 too long. Four incheB is plenty long enough when your 

 dogs are anywhere near of a size, aud you will generally find it 

 ling enough under any circumstances. Should the old dog 

 be very high headed the chain ran easily be lengthened an 

 inch or two. After they go well together and our pupil has 

 1 ::rneil the meaning or To ho and" minds fairly, you will 

 and that it will tie of. great benefit to him to practice him 

 when coupled to the old dog, for the example of the latter will 

 steady him, which is a matter of great importance, and 

 once his mind is thoroughly impressed with the idea that he. 

 must hold his position, even when in fear that his com- 

 panion will secure the tempting morsal, it will be com- 

 paratively easy to keep him up to his work, He will also 

 learn to remain quiet at charge with much less trouble to 

 yrm if coupled to the old dog. As he grows older and you 

 commence to lengthen the rime that he must remain in this 

 position, we should by all means recommend this course ; 

 indeed wc have found that the services of a well trained, 

 steady dog are invaluable, all through until our pupil's educa- 

 tion is complete. Aa we have before remarked the as- 

 sistance of the old dog should never be called in requisition 

 until our pupil has been taught his lesson and is somewhst 

 proficient iu its performance, then ho can uudc-rsfaudingiy 

 View the old dog as he performs the task, and if he is reason- 

 ably intelligent ho will soon leurn to imitate his steadiness. 



We shalt also find, if out pup is inclined to work too close 

 to us when quartering his ground, that the example of the 

 old dog will soon cause hi in to increase his range. We much 

 prefer that our pup should range freely of his own accord, 

 but should he not quite please us in this, we couple him to 

 the old dps and practice ihem together until we obt.iin satis- 

 factory results. Great caution must be observed in this and 

 the lesions must not be too frequentnor too long continued, 

 i u- OU* pupil will lose his independence and form the very had 

 h ibit of looking to his companion to cut out, the work which 

 will seriously detract iroin his usefulness in the field. 



Ab it is very desirable that our dog should possess a fair 

 amount of speed, we should so conduct his exercise that 

 when we oorne to cut him loose in the field he will not potter 

 aud poke, but at once strike a slashing gut and with head 

 well up, take to his work like a veteran. Many doge can 

 never become fast, but if you have followed the instructions 

 in selecting your pup ihat we have laid down, and have 

 secured a well formed one with plenty of life aud spirit. 

 thee will be no trouble in bringing hioiout a fairly speedy 

 animal; indeed, we have taken in hand old dogs that were 

 decide. !i v slow, and in a few weeks by judicious manage- 

 . turning l hem m\ .astonishingly fast. 

 cannot give instructions tint will enable you I 



to infallibly produce a speedy animal, but if you will in- 

 telligently follow our plan, you can in most cases succeed in 

 accomplishing your purpose. Do not forget, in your anxiety 

 for 6peed, that a fast dog with a slow nose is nearly worth- 

 less; therefore, before you attempt to force the pace, you 

 should thoroughly satisfy yourself that your pupil's olfactory 

 organs are all right; you can form a nearly correct opinion 

 upon this point by carefully watching him while he is at play, 

 and taking note of each time that he "winds" anything 

 that attracts him, and paying close attention to the distance 

 he is from the object. This, though not an infallible test, 

 will generally give you a very good idea of his powers. 

 Should he appear to have a quick sensitive nose and you de- 

 sire to quicken his gait, try the following plan, and our -word 

 for it, if you pursue the proper course, youwillhenstonished 

 at the improvement he will show in a few lessons. When 

 commencing these lessons you should select for exercise 

 ground a large open field, and if the surface, is undulating, it 

 will be all the better, for when the old dog disappears over 

 the knolls it will make the pup all the more eager to join him. 

 When you arrive at the ground yon should letrheolddoxgo, 

 and keep the pup close at heel until he gets quite impatient, 

 taking great care not to overdo the matter by keeping him 

 under resi rain t too long, nor on the other hand should you 

 let him go until he is in the proper frame of mind to put 

 forth his best efforts when lie hears the welcome signal. If 

 you have acquired such knowledge of his disposition and 

 temper as yon should have done, you will be sure, by closely 

 washing him, to hit upon just the right instant when his 

 impatient feelingB are at their greatest height to give him the 

 word to go on. If this order is given in an eager tone, ac- 

 companied with a quick step or two forward, you will find 

 that your pupil will at once start with an eager'rush and put 

 forth bis best efforts to catch the old dog. You should care- 

 fully watch him, and as soon as he slacks his speed, call him 

 iu at once and keep him at heel until he is again impatient, 

 when you can repent the performance. If this course is 

 understandiugly pursued, your pupil will soon learn that in 

 order to have his liberty he must not potter, and he will in a 

 short time astonish you with his greatly improved gait. The 

 speed of almost any dog can he improved in this way, hut 

 the best results are Obtained when your dog is possessed of a 

 high strung nervous temperament. With Buch a one prop- 

 erly handled marvelous improvement is sure to follow. 



You will also fiud that the example of the old dog will be 

 productive of much good, when you commence accustoming 

 your pup to the sights aud sounds of the street, you will be 

 spared much trouble in way- wising him by coupling them 

 i ogether when taking a walk through the streets, especially 

 if you are in a city where each sight and sound is new to 

 your pupil, for he will not only see that his companion isun 

 concerned and thereby acquire confidence, but he will soon 

 learn that he cannot bolt should anything strange occur, and 

 in a short time he will become steady and behave like a 

 veteran. 



Backing is an accomplishment Ihat affords us much pleas- 

 ure — in fact, one-half of our enjoyment, when shooting over 

 a brace of dogs, is in witnessing the faultless performance of 

 a well-trained animal, as he instantly honors tbo point of his 

 companion. This accomplishment is inherent in many dogs, 

 and is as natural to them as the instinct of pointing. Yet, 

 there are many first-class animals who will not back a com- 

 panion's point, bur will work forward until they obtain the 

 scent. This is always unpleasant, and often not only mare 

 our enjoyment of the sport, but the practice is very apt to 

 unsteady the other dog, especially when the dog that should 

 back thrusts his nose a little ahead, which he is very prone 

 to do. The dog that will remain perfectly steady aud 

 staunch while his companion repeatedly p;acticesthis, is, in- 

 deed, a treasure, and worthy fairer treatment. That your 

 dog will not he the one to commit so serious a fault you 

 can rest assured, if you have carefully followed our instruc- 

 tions in bis early training and will intelligently handle him 

 when he first goes into the field with a companion. As we 

 have often remarked, first impressions play a very important 

 part in the future behavior of your dog, therefore you 

 should be very careful that nothing occurs that will give him 

 any wrong ideas. The first time that you take him out with 

 another dog, i hey should be well acquainted, if possible, or 

 at least have time to play together until they become some- 

 what used to each other. You should he accompanied by a 

 friend, who should have the '-are of the other dog. while you 

 keep your pupil close to heel until the other dog liuds and 

 comes to a point. Be very careful now, aud as soon as your 

 dog catches sight of him, raise your band and bid him To ho, 

 and on no account must you stir so inueb. as a finger, but re- 

 main perfectly quiet and staunch, as though you were also 

 backing, until your companion has flushed the bird. Your 

 example will have much to do iu perfecting his steadiness, 

 and you will find that after a few lessons of this kind — even 

 should he possess no natural inclination to back— he will 

 understand what is required, and instantly back of his own 

 accord as soon as he catches sigh' of a companion's point. 



FIELD TRIALS. 



UEir SVSTE5I vs. SBsmWSBCBX system. 



WE publish the following from Land a»id Water and would 

 suggest that the committee baying charge of the amend- 

 ment of our onu Field Trial Rules should carefully read ami con- 

 sider the changes adveoated : 



" Mr. George BreWfS, who. it will be remembered, purchased 

 Dash II (now Mr. Llewellms), and won several timed with that 

 dog at tho Kennel Club Field Trial', then, as always, conducted on 

 the heats plan of judging, hu,. ... ■';.'..- d-. Co-l himself in favor ol 

 the Shrewsbury system. Moreover, he has teen powerful enough 

 to get a committee of the kennel club elected to look into the 

 question. 



Perhaps, before going iuto the subject, it will ho best to ehow 

 who.xin the two systrana of judging differ, for held triulB have be- 

 come of late years an institution of the greatest importance to 

 sportsmen when engaged on the moors, and few art) the liennel- 

 even in- the remotest parts of Scotland which have not gained 

 something by— it niay be only indirect— orostsiug with thu blood 

 of field trial winners * Iu both Systems ol judging- tho mode ot 

 bringing together the contesting dogs by what iH called '* tin; 

 draw'' is the same. The name of every dog in the stake is written 

 ou a separate slip of rolled paper and placed in a hat. Tbej 

 are Eheii drawn out by luoli, and every two (joining together 

 run together in the. stake, the judges being the Same u, 

 each case. Here the lilitnetii between the two systems ends, i u 

 tho Shrewsbury ByStem, alter the dogs have been once before the 

 judged, the;, . . ...,:■.-. ,., then 



having given any verdiot between anj a, according 



to the draw, have um i,- '. - - ■tvtbiug is optional Willi the 

 judges. At. a matter of fact it generally happens that the judges 

 ' j at the time declare betweei - pretty often, 



id also see many of the doge lowi i wmd type generally. 



Iu the heats pjarj.as the contesting bracea are taken un, the 

 judge..- are bound to deliver a verdict, and when the card has been 



ran through once, every unbeaten dog, that is halt the number of 

 the original stake, together with the bye or odd dog (shoul dtho 

 namber in the stake have been an uneven one) are paired in tli9 

 order in which they have previously rim, and the judges again go 

 to Work as if thev had never seen auy of tho dogs before, and again 

 judge between every two contesting dogs, taking no account of 

 the work they have done iu their former competition, but jinking 

 between the two dogs .before them in circumstances pf place", 

 lime, atmosphere and scent, which are alike for both. Tho whole 

 of tho dogs left iu having been thus decided between, the sarno 

 thing is enacted until only one dog is left in the stake, to whom, 

 of course, first prize falls. In awarding the second and other 

 prizes two systems have been adopted, neither less than the other 

 a part of the heats plan, One is that the last dogs tnrned out 

 of the stake take second, third aud fourth prizes according to the 

 number of dogs in tho stake when they were turned out, the last 

 dog turned out, of course, taking second prize. The other way of 

 awarding these prizes, which has also been used at the kennel 

 club heat system trials, and which seems to be more tempered 

 with justice tnau the other, is this : When the first prize dog has 

 beeu discovered, then the last dog turned out of lire stake has to 

 form a stake, aud run it out, on the heat? plan, agaiust every dog 

 previously mot aud beaten directly by the winner of first prize. 

 The same thing happens to find third prize, except that it is every 

 clog beaten by the second prize dog which contests for it, aud bo 

 on if there are more than three prizes to be given, which in our 

 opiihon never ought to be. 



The Kennel Club has adopted the heats plan as its own, and 

 has always hold it up as superior to the Shrewsbury system, where 

 it was argued, aud very justly, that the best dog hi the stake, by 

 limning on the worst ground aud in the worst time of the day for 

 ncont, might do the worst work of auy dog in the stake. Such a 

 thing has happened more than once. The organs of the Kennel 

 Club have never been tired of lauding their svstem aa greatly 

 Superior to that of Shrewsbury, aud people were forcibly reminded 

 that thev there paid a big entry fee for the pleasure of running 

 their dog before the judges, without the satisfaction of a contest 

 with the result, and without even knowing what the judges 

 bought of their pet and his performance; and worse, that a bad 

 dog running under favorable circumstances of time, place, atmos- 

 phere might be highly thought of j while others, bettor, were 

 never asked for again. The Kennel Club made rattier too much 

 of these evil chances, which certainly do exist in the Shrewsbury 

 system, hut not to anything like so great an extent as it bus been 

 sought to be made to appear ; for although the best dog has not 

 always won, certain it is that no bad one has ever done bo. 



We ventnre to say that, had the heats system been attacked by 

 anybody except Mr. George Brewis, who is not only a member of 

 the Kennel Club, but the gentleman who gives it a dwelling and 

 an estate on which to hold its trials, the Kennel Club would have 

 defended every particle and offshoot of the system as a settled 

 question, with more Brightisms than Mr. John Bright himself 

 hurls at those who venture to raise the question of free trade and 

 protection, aud for the same reason, because both are of a party 

 that has settled a question, aud the reputation of both depends 

 upou the respective questions remaining settled. It is, a, happv 

 omen, therefore, that the Kennel Club aro forced io a considera- 

 tion of their way of conducting Held trials by one of their own 

 patrons; for, so identified « ith the heats system'has everything of 

 the Kennel Club Field Trials become, and bo committed to it is 

 tho cluo, that otherwise no discussion would have born possible in 

 tho club itself. Now, we hope for good results, aud with that 

 view give the four objections against tho hoats system enumer- 

 ated by Mr. George Brewis. Thsy are as follows ; 



1. It is very unfair to tho second best dog iu tho stake, if, as is 

 often tho case, it is drawn against the absolute winner. TJuder 

 existing circumstances it is not heard of again at the meeting, 

 while an interior animal creeps into what should have been an- 

 other b place. 



2. As we witnessed last week, the waste of ground and time 

 entailed in running together two inferior dogs, it mav be for moro 

 than an hour aud a half until it cau be decided, not which is the 

 host, but really aud truly whioh is the worst of the brace. 



3. Tire injustice done to a dog that has had an hour's trial and 

 won it hand «omely, being made to run agaiust a comparatively 

 fresh one, his previous good work not scoring to his credit. 



4. The luck of the bye, by which a dog practically wins a tie, 

 however bad bo may be, without being slipped. 



The first of these objections ia no argument against the heats 

 Bystem ; it is simply an objection to the mode of giving second 

 prize adopted at Home of the meetings held under the heats system, 

 and not at others. It is an objection (with whioh we perfectly 

 agree) to giving second prize to the last dog beaten by the winner, 

 iustoad of to the best dog beaten by the winner, discoverable by 

 tho formation of a separate stake, as described above, aud which 

 has been tried with good results at the heat system meetings of 

 the Kennel Club. The ouly exception taken to it has been found- 

 ed on the time it takes to carry it out. This is not much and can 

 be overcome. In a sixteen dog Blake it takes fifteen contests to 

 decide drat prize, three to decide second, and from two to five to 

 decide third. 



Mr. Brewia's second objection deals with the question of waBte 

 of ground and time, aud I will take this objection with reference 

 to time alone, as the two, time and ground, can easily be shown 

 to be inseparable, so far aB field trials are concerned. It is the 

 great length of time the heat system has always been made to 

 occupy that has been its one fault ; aud this year, with singularly 

 protracted trials, resulted in Mr. Brewis's protest. All other point's 

 being far iu advance of the Shrewsbury system, either regarded 

 from the view of a spectator interested in the result, who can see 

 to a certain extent how the game ia going ; or from the view of 

 an exhibitor, who knows his dog will have au exactly equal chance 

 of doing himself credit, toward winning, as every other dog in 

 tho stake: or from the view of a breaker, who cares very little 

 whether he has bad ground or good, so long as it ia tho same for 

 both, as it, of course, always is, aud as it is not, and cannot be, 

 under the Shrewsbury plan. Mow, it appears to us that without 

 m tho least breaking away from the heats Hystem, as a system, and 

 whde retaining every advantage of that 'system, especially the 

 greatest of all, which is that no dog is turned out of the Btake 

 only because he has doue bad work (it may be without a possibil- 

 ity of doing better), but only because ho is beaten by another dog, 

 which has doue better work, with exactly the same chances, it ap- 

 pears to na that a great saving of time can be effected bv giving 

 the judges moro power in two directions. First, give them power 

 to keep both competitor!! in the stake, instead of as under the 

 Shrewsbury system of turning both out. Second, give thorn paver 

 after running tho whole of the competitors once, to match them 

 in the order, and in any pairing they chooao for the rest of the 

 running iu thai, stake, always retaining the power of keeping both 

 competitors in the stake to run against different dogs of the 

 judges' own choosing in tho next course of heats. The advantages 

 i these extended poweis would be as followB: first, the judges 

 would run through the list of dogs as drawn aud on tbo field card, 

 noting not only tho work of each dog as compared with its antag- 

 onist, but they would keep au eye on the general form of tho dogs 

 with a view to matching them iu tho next cuurse of heats for tho 

 obtaining of speedy results. The judgea would stop those " give- 

 ..;, - •_ irials," which, under the present rules, have boon known 

 to occupy the best part of a morning, stop them so soou its they 

 -:.» !,■.:■. ■■u-i.T, ,.;iild be arrived at whether the dogs had 



hunted ■ raimjteor twenty; to go down with other competitors 

 in ike next course of heats, either better or worse ('according to 

 opinion', aa they had seemed above or below the average of tho 

 dog,- m tha ■ 



Mr. Brewis' third objection seems to me to require less atten- 

 tion. How, ver great an evil it may be for one dog to run an hour 

 or so longer than soother, 1 think old BpfliWen will agree with 

 me that it would be a still greater evil t > attempt to [ndge between 

 digs run at different ium, of the day, in godd Scent and 

 in bad scant, and on different sorts of ground, iu good 

 cover and iu no cover. Those who have shot meet, 

 over dogs know we 1 enough thai the best digs in the world pars 

 buds at some poinds ot the day, and the, it some 



bits of the moor and gome neldB also uevei hold scent, Whv, the 



